Marimar Q.
Pallez ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING 2
I. TASK: Story frame about
You are on a weekend camping trip. You do not have any music or books with you, your cell phone is not
working, and you do not feel a bit sleepy. To pass the time, you and your group decide to tell personal
stories, and the best one will win the storyteller the last s’more.
1. Begin your frame story by writing down the names, descriptions, and primary interests of each person
in your group.
2. Plan your individual story on one of the group members (it does not have to be you!)
3. Take turns sharing, and take brief notes on each one to help you make your decision.
4. Decide who the winning storyteller is and explain why. (Infer why he or she won the votes!)
II. TASK: Analyze a character from a scripted scene
When preparing for a role, actors definitely do their homework. Whether the role is historical or fictional,
actors must delve into the script and discover the heart, mind, and soul of a character.
They do this in primarily 3 ways:
1. Textually – extracting all possible information from the text. What does the playwright directly say
about the character? What do other characters say about a character? What does the character say about
themselves?
2. Inferentially – using all textual clues to infer information about a character. What does the playwright
imply about a character? What do a character’s actions imply about that character? How do other
characters react to a character? What does that imply?
3. Interpretively – adding necessary information that is not textually based, but remains consistent with
collected character knowledge. What else does an actor need to know in order to “flesh out” the
character? What was the family of the character like? What happened in the past to make him/her act this
way? What baggage does the character bring to the scene? What educational background? These
questions could go on forever; however, it is important to discern which questions are appropriate and
important to ask in any given situation.
Write a character analysis of your character. It should cover all 3 aspects of analysis and conform to the
course writing standards. Length should be approximately 2-3 pages.
III. TASK: Conflict Compare and Contrast
Short stories, like real life, contain conflicts. A conflict may be internal or external. Internal conflicts
occur within a character as he or she struggles with opposing feelings, beliefs, or needs. External conflicts
occur between two or more characters or between a character and a natural force.
Directions:
Complete the Venn diagram by describing, in detail, each conflict from “Leiningen Versus the Ants” and
whether it is internal, external or both. Then write a reflection on which conflicts (external or internal)
would weigh the heaviest on your shoulders if you were Leiningen and why?
IV. TASK: Changing Point of View Writing
Point of View is the position or perspective from which the events of a story are seen. When you read a
story told from first-person point of view you experience the story through the eyes of a character who
uses the pronouns I, me, my. Through that first-person narrator, you- the reader – experience everything
that happens in the story and know the character’s thoughts and feelings.
Directions: For this assignment you will understand the importance of point of view. You will choose 2
significant paragraphs from a story we have already read in class, and will change those paragraphs into
the first-person point of view. On your final copy you should have the 2 original paragraphs written above
your changed paragraphs.
After you have translated them into this point of view, you will write one paragraph describing the
difference that the change in point of view made. And describe what you have learned about writing
through this process.
V. TASK: Character Sketch
Because “By the Waters of Babylon” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” are written from the first-person point of
view, the reader’s knowledge of John and the narrator are limited to their words and actions.
Directions: Write a character sketch of John or the narrator from your own point of view. Before you
write, gather details about them from the story that will help bring them to life. You may have to infer
many details. Begin with an introduction that makes a few generalizations about the character. Then
elaborate on each generalization in paragraphs.
Retrieved from:
Jon Mueller http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/examples/examples_tasks_english.htm
Jon Mueller http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/examples/cihock10/conflictvenn.pdf
Jon Mueller http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/examples/cihock10/changingpov.pdf
Jon Mueller http://jfmueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/examples/cihock10/charactersketch.pdf
http://www.cse.ucla.edu/products/teachers/SamplePerfTsks.pdf
